MILWAUKEE -- A change in state adoption policies has St. Aemilian-Lakeside needing good foster parents more than ever.

"We really need folks who are willing to open their hearts and their homes to help a child begin to heal," Coordinator of Foster Care, Missy Dembrowski-Boling.

Ruby Hamilton has been one of her go-to parents for six years and taken in 30 children.

"When you take in a child, you take in the whole family," said Hamilton because you have to help them work through their problems.

Many of the kids who are connected with St. Aemilian-Lakeside, a human services agency, come from homes where they're neglected or mistreated. They are matched with a trained foster parent that can help them begin to heal.

"We make them feel comfortable, we provide a warm, supportive, and nurturing environment and we help them start to self regulate," said Dembrowski-Boling.

She says at any given time there are 2,000 kids in out-of-home care in Milwaukee County. Many of them spend between two months and a couple years in foster care.

Hamilton has had them for both amounts of time. She says initially they're a little scared going to a new home.

"After awhile they see that you're not going to turn them away and then they start to calm down," said Hamilton, "and that's a rewarding thing to see them do well so they can go on with their lives and go on with their education and allow people to love them and eventually they'll love you back."

To qualify to be a foster parent, Dembrowski-Boling says a person must be at least 18-years-old and have a clean background. She says St. Aemilian-Lakeside's foster parents are single, married, partnered, have kids, don't have kids, and are from every socio-economic and ethnic background.

"They're nurturing, they're flexible, they have great senses of humor and they're amazing people," said Dembrowski-Boling.

Hamilton says besides the great kids she's cared for, St. Aemilian-Lakeside's commitment to it's foster parents has made it a worthwhile experience.

"They are there for you, no matter what time it is. If you call them at midnight someone will get back with you," said Hamilton. "They don't just leave you out on a limb. They're always there for you."

Before children are allowed into the potential parents' home, the adults are screened and must go through training and certification to become a foster parent. Once they are certified, they have continuing education to make sure they are up on the latest practices.

For those who aren't sure if being a full-time foster parent is right for them, St. Aemilian-Lakeside offers a program where the adults can take foster children in for just the weekend, giving the foster parents a break.

The goal is for all the children to return home to their birth families and Dembrowski-Boling says 64% of them do in Milwaukee County.

Hamilton says she grows very close to her kids and it's never easy when it's time for them to leave.

"You don't want to see them go but you want to see them go because they're going back to their families," said Hamilton. "It leaves a void in your life for awhile."

But Hamilton takes comfort in knowing that she'll see them again. She passes a lot of her kids in the store and even says one of them has become a pharmacy tech at her local drug store.

"It was such a rewarding experience to take a kid in, knowing that you have had an impact on their life," said Hamilton.

For more information on St. Aemilian-Lakeside's foster care program log onto http://www.st-al.org/services/foster-care/